Author Topic: Facebook's STCC Group Founder has been Wrong All Along (Read 165 times)

Doug K · « **on:** May 11, 2021, 09:48:28 am »

You know, it's been quite awhile since a group formed in the bowels of Perinton & Fairport, aimed solely at stopping Canal Embankment Maintenance & Repair that was being performed by the New York State Canal Corporation. The group's 'founder", decided to use Facebook to fight the "good fight" against public safety, in her own community, and across western New York State along the Erie Canal.

She recruited members by telling people the exact OPPOSITE of what the Canal Corporation was saying about their property, including the NYS Canal, and Empire Trail Systems. The group created a false narrative to try and turn the discussion from public safety, to a "fake" environmental cause.

While the NYS Canal Corporation was saying their Canal was a danger, due to unsafe canal embankments... this Facebook group leader said that was all a "lie"

While the NYS Canal Corporation was stating the Earthen Embankments that were covered with trees had to be cleared... this group leader was crying "Shade is Good".

Her ploy of "untruth in advertising" didn't pay off too well, and many of her members AND THE PUBLIC, started to voice their concern about the Group's message & the group's leadership. Members of this STCC Facebook group started to question their leader, and started to accept that safer embankments with restored vegetation that was approved for this type of earthen embankment dam was necessary for the safety of canal neighbors & the public.

So what does a "good leader" do? Well she tries "other methods" to try and hold the party line of her group...like outright censorship, hidden behiond yet another lie. Here's a POST off the Stopr the Canal Clear-cut group's Facebook Page, by it's Founder, from April of 2021. She's claiming that a new Facebook policy changed how groups are run and she can no longer "approve" who joins her group, and she fears "trolling" will happen as a result.

So she has to take charge and CENSOR any of the group members post "for awhile" to make sure that nothing "bad" is written... you see the post yourself.

Facebook's STCC Group Founder has been Wrong All Along

Now of course some of her members probably bought into this lie, they have gobbled up all of the past ones with no issues...but we at the ECNA WANTED TO PUT THE CLAIM TO THE TEST.

So I tried to signup to the Facebook Group...and low and behold, this is what I received as a reply... my membership is on hold, pending approval from the "admins".... yes that same STCC Group Founder who was claiming quite the opposite. And even more curious, the Group claims to be "bi-partisan", which many "ex-members of the Stop the Canal Clear-Cut will tell you is simply a falsehood. A few folks have been booted simply for stating the truth & facts about Canal Embankment Safety.

I won't hold my breath getting approved by Ms Agte anytime soon... she's made it clear to the ECNA that she doesn't like the message here...Public Safety is #1

And wouldn't you know it... Today another BIG LIE this group has been spreading was proven wrong... the Canal EMBANKMENTS ARE NOT SAFE.

Today another long-time LEADER & member of this Facebook Group, posted to the entire membership, a damning post that all but shows just how dangerous this group has been with their "phony" environmental cause, and their claims that the Erie Canal Embankments are "safe".

The STCC group has always stated that Canal Embankments have never collapsed or caused any issues unless "the owners" tried to work on it, like in 1974 at Bushnell's Basin.

So how does the Facebook Group's FOUNDER, LEADERSHIP & MEMBERSHIP explain this bank wahout wissue on the Canal from today, May 11?

https://www.whec.com/wayne-county-ny-news/canal-corp-assessing-washout-of-creek-near-erie-canal-in-macedon-water-drawn-as-precaution/6103659/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/239440766586663/

It's now becoming very apparent, to most of the smarter people around Rochester and especially those who are true Erie Canal Neighbors, that this group's continued canal embankment misinformation campaign, and their refusal to acknowledge that the Erie Canal has become a huge safety & liability issues for this State, is now reaching the point of both ridiculous, and dangerous, to our local canal towns & villages.

This Facebook Group and it's CORE leadership was wrong about Embankment Safety, they were wrong about "trees & shade", and the group's Founder & Leaders have bent and reshaped the TRUTH so many times, it looks like a pretzel, and a broken one at that.

Before another Embankment Collapse happens in our area, and quite possibly damages or takes lives of members of our community, please, speak out and stop the senseless lies being spread by the Facebook Group.

If you are a member, quit. If you are a supporter of the "canal lies" they are spreading... please start to tell these Leaders the truth. Because the life you save may be your own, the next time the Canal breaks and floods an unsuspecting community.

Facebook's Stop the Canal Clear-Cut Group... wrong about Canal Safety, and it's Leaders are going to get someone killed if they aren't careful.

Doug K · « **Reply #1 on:** May 11, 2021, 10:37:17 am »

Sure looks like evidence to the contrary...but I guess only Erie Canal Embankment breaches, located in and around Perinton NY, matter to this Facebook Group.

Seems almost predictable that the EARTHEN section of this water impounding structure collapsed...

Sadly some people in Perinton still think unsafe canal embankments are just a "ploy" being used by the Canal Corporation.

This should be a wake up call to many, unless of course they still want to cling to the Stop the Canal Clear-cut lie

Doug K · « **Reply #2 on:** May 13, 2021, 08:15:41 am »

Seems the Leader of a local Facebook Group fighting against Canal Embankment Repair had to see the Canal Breach firsthand. After all, this groups and both it's LEADERS and MEMBERS have been claiming that there is "absolutely NOTHING wrong" with the Erie Canal, it's earthen embankments, or any of it's water impoundments for over 3 years now.

And of course she's happy to report that the breach in Palmyra/Macedon is "all NYPA's Fault, that they shouldn't have been "distracted" by "clear-cutting".

Of course she clearly is avoiding the entire REASON behind the removal of overgrown and dangerous vegetation that NYPA (the NY Power Authority) is trying to remove in order to repair 100s of miles of Earthen Embankments that are also a safety issue for the NYS Canal System.

She even says that the Canal was filled despite knowing the Macedon aqueduct defect existed... as if there was an alternative to filling that would be accepted by this group. You go an take a look for yourself folks... this is what many might term as a "danger in the community".

Now go and take a look at what the NYPA and the NYS Canal Corporation are trying to repair with their Erathen Embankment Integrity Program...or EEIP. The picture shows EXACTLY what is trying to be repaired and why. And that work doesn't seem to be any different than what was needed at this particular water impoundment. Both needed to be properly repaired in a timely manner

And now can someone please explain how the failure of an aging aqueduct is somehow a different public safety issues than aging earthen embankments that we have been told need to be cleared before they fail as well?

It defies logic & common sense how this Facebook group simply choses to stop at the words "clear-cut" to make themselves feel good about their cause.

And yet at the same time this STCC group FAILS to recognize the danger of an aging Erie Canal, with an infrastructure of leaking earthen dams, crumbling retaining walls, and failing aqueducts.

Go look at the Canal Breach pictures again...

The impounding structure that held canal water leaked. That leaked caused water to escape and it breached all other canal infrastructures in that area, like the earthen embankment, the handmade stone wall and the cement forming parts of the aqueduct. A canal impoundment failure occurred and luckily it was close to a stream that could manage some of that canal breach. The exact same thing can happen anywhere along the 100 miles of Canal Embankments outlined by the Canal Corporation and their EEIP program.

But for some reason the Stop the Canal Clear-cut doesn't want to accept these facts... they only want to complain about why the work is being done.

This Facebook group just wants to criticize the owners of the Canal for not doing enough to make proper repairs...

And about those Erie Canal Safety Repairs... well the group has also decided it's a good idea to stand in front of those with protest signs, claiming to be working "for" the Canal, not against it... what a joke.

Sadly all they have accomplished is to keep local canal communities in danger, from a canal breach or structure failure like what just happened in Macedon & Palmyra.

Michael Caswell · « **Reply #3 on:** May 13, 2021, 11:59:33 am »

One has to wonder what this problem has to do with a group that is called STOP THE CLEAR CUT?

This looks like a viaduct (not an aqueduct), and a wall that collapsed. Nothing to do with trees, AND nothing do with dangerous earthen embankment dams.

AND hasn't the NYPA been saying, for years, The canal has been neglected and we're trying to put it right!

Unfortunately, they have had to deal with a bunch of housewives (bored I guess) who are hell bent on nit picking simply because they have bugger all else better to do! Talking of nits, why don't you ladies take up knitting instead. You have no knowledge of dam engineering, or canal maintenance, and you're a 'dammed' nuisance, the lot of you. There! I feel better now! :-)

Doug K · « **Reply #4 on:** May 13, 2021, 09:44:18 pm »

Thank you Mayor Caswell, well said.

Not sure about knitting but I understand there is a beekeeper among them, and someone skilled in biology. There's a known issue with dwindling bee populations that could use help, and their time wouldn't be spent trying to protect the very thing causing all the danger to canal embankment integrity.

No clear cutting going on here Mike, we saw our Earthen Embankments repaired over a two year process and then restored with a barrier planting of smaller sized vegetation. From the looks of it, there were 2 new trees replaced for every one that was removed...including dead ones.

Seems like a fair trade, and most here are satisfied, why is this group still concerned? Seems like they just use Facebook to whine about things they didn't understand about canal safety. The recent bank breach in Macedon has made many in that group think, maybe for the first time.

We have seen an influx of people on the ECNA Forum & website, who finally figured out this Facebook group wasted their time.

Nothing got "stopped" and nothing was "clear-cut" and these canal neighbors still have a New Embankment Program coming to make their embankments safer. They need real help, not complaints and confusion.

And that new embankment program is something that is directed at Canal NEIGHBORS to help THEM understand what will be happening on the property they LIVE next to. Each neighbor is different, has different needs and the one size approach of the Stop Group on Facebook gets zip done for getting people safe.

Canal Walkers, and their OPINIONS will start going to the back the the line soon...watch.

Good luck on getting the Oxbow Embankment Dam cleared and safe, it's one of the largest in your area that threatens the most people, and retains the most water.

Doug K · « **Reply #5 on:** May 14, 2021, 08:34:41 am »

Anyone who's still holding tight to their FANTASY that "there's nothing wrong with the Erie Canal" or that "there's no danger to the public" from Erie Canal water impounding structures, probably had that "wishful thinking" absolutely crushed today.

https://www.canals.ny.gov/wwwapps/tas/notices/index.aspx

It's yet another NYS Canal Corporation notice regarding issues with water escaping the system, that is now putting the public near the problem areas at risk.

Yes, water is leaking out of the Canal, sometimes in a washout event, and sometimes in a leak that is bad enough for the Canal Corporation to shut down all navigation by closing the Guard Gates, that are meant to protect the Public in the event of an Erie Canal breach.

Yes, the Canal guard gates are DOWN, due to a "water seepage" issue in Brockport, right at the Smith Street Bridge.

This is an area that has been discussed before on our Forum Board. It's one of the many places where an overflow sluiceway has become overgrown to the point of being a community danger. It's a small cement dam, that is knitted into the Earthen Embankment on either side, and serves to let water overflow & escape as needed.

It appears this area has now risen to become a working public safety hazard now.

https://ecna.createaforum.com/general-discussion/t762/msg1294/#msg1294

So for those of you, who continue to DENY the obvious state of disrepair of Canal Embankments, and the overall hazard that overgrown and LEAKING earthen embankments bring, I guess you can simply IGNORE yet another warning sign of public safety issues along the NYS Canal System...again.

After all, the people that protest on this Facebook group seem to be led by a small group of women who only frequent the Canal Trail in Perinton & Fairport. Those "leaders" also live on the Eastside, in those towns, and are not neighbors to the Canal, only guests on Canal property.

The Canal Leak in Brockport, that closed the guard gates and all canal navigation, doesn't affect them as all... does it?

And they also don't believe there is any danger, so most likely the Facebook group will start to protest the closing of the Guard Gates, an action taken for the PROTECTION of the Public.

Talk about Karma... this only goes to show just how wrong a group of people can be about the Erie Canal, Public Safety, and the need to repair embankments.

I blame Facebook...for letting groups like the Stop the Canal Clear-cut form & spread their drivel.

And let's NOT FORGET the hundreds of people who let others think for them and spread this kind of dangerous misinformation about.

Doug K · « **Reply #6 on:** May 14, 2021, 10:02:45 am »

Just when you thought you had seen it all...you wake up to find this...

This is the REPLY by the Founder of the Stop the Canal Clear-cut with her "assessment" of the Brockport canal leak that has caused a navigation channel closure for 10 miles.

Seems that the Facebook Group protesting clear-cutting that isn't happening, and wants to save trees that have become a danger to Canal Users, has now taken up the work of "historical restoration" of the Macedon Canal area near the recent breach of an earthen bank.

And the Founder & Leader of that group has also has restated her claim that the Canal Corporation should be working on "manmade" structures... not the "embankments". Sadly she must somehow STILL cling to the hope that the embankments all "magically appeared" to route all this water through New York State. She doesn't want to accept the FACT that these earthen embankments ARE actually BUILT, they were man-made, right along with all the other water impoundments used to create the NYS Canal System.

It's right there in PRINT if she would READ... and of course understand what is written. And that seems to be the issue here...basic reading comprehension.

https://www.canals.ny.gov/Earthen_Embankment/overview.html

But in some people's worlds the distinction of what constitutes "man-made" probably has to do with "color".

Green things are "all natural", like grass, trees and EARTHEN EMBANKMENT DAMS that form the Erie Canal... Ms. Agte doesn't accept these built impounding structures are "man-made"... but won't tell us how they got here, if men weren't the ones who did it. Anything "not green" is man-made, like a cement wall, a old stone aqueduct, or an embankment wall near Smith Street in Brockport.

And of course, it's time to start yet another "conspiracy theory" within this Stop the Canal Clear-cut Facebook Group...

Did you hear?

It's a very possible, according to one Ms. Elizabeth Agte, that the New York Power Authority (NYPA) is deliberately trying to "undermine" the Erie Canal.

Yes, the same NYPA who petitioned the Governor of NY to let them manage the Canal System and help it turn a profit...finally

Yes, the same New York Power who has funded and backed a huge initiative to Reimagine the Canals, and is making great strides in transforming a 200 year old idea, into a 21st century entity that will change with the times... away from commercial use and more towards public recreation.

Yes, the same New York Power Authority who has been given the task of fixing a NYS Canal System that was deemed UNSAFE back in 2014, and those safety issues were ignored by it's prior owners to the point where it had to be "reallocated" to a ownership.

YES... the same NYPA ownership who has PROMISED that NYS Taxpayers will NOT have to fund the negative balance sheet of the NYS Erie Canal. This owner is not only taking care of the safety issues along the canal, they are doing it on THEIR dime, paid for by profits from the "product" that they sell.

Perhaps it's time to have someone within this Facebook group help their Founder understand the TRUTH about what parts of the NYS Canal System are "man-made". I think the answer is just about all of it, with the exception of a few river sections in the Middle Section.

Maybe someone in the group should be explaining to their Leadership that the owners of the Canal System ARE trying to work on UNSAFE "man-made" structures first... they are called Earthen Embankments.

And by the way, YOUR group is actively trying to stand in their way of getting those safety issues repaired, just thought you should know.

Folks, just expressing MY opinion here:

There hasn't been a group that is this dysfunctional since January 6th, when Insurrectionists, led by another "not to bright" leader, were referred to as "patriots" defending a "just cause". The cause at that time was the overthrow of a government, after a free & fair election of a new President.

And the leader of that group also wouldn't believe the truth, accept the facts, and tried hard to muster forces to work AGAINST what was best for the Public.

Think about it...

Doug K · « **Reply #7 on:** May 16, 2021, 12:37:42 pm »

Another 5 miles of Erie Canal Navigation closed, and another Flood Prevention Guard Gate CLOSURE in Holley, NY has been announced today by the NYS Canal Corporation. It's all in response the Smith Street water seepage issue in Brockport, that started as soon as the Canal was filled. It's an embankment, with a cement spillway, all part of an overgrown 100 year old section of the Canal that has now failed.

This section of the embankment did NOT get any EERP Restoration work performed over the past 3 years... maybe it should have in hindsight, but a group on Facebook put that work to an end with their lawsuit against Public Safety and fixing these MAJOR issues along the canal water impoundments.

https://www.canals.ny.gov/wwwapps/tas/notices/ntm.aspx?id=1634

And of course the Stop the Canal Clear-cut group on Facebook is silent now, in the face of overwhelming evidence against their rhetoric of this group, and it's leaders. An old Erie Canal section that had a washout in Macedon, and a major leakage on the Canal in Brockport this week, seem to have silenced this group.

After all the group's FOUNDER and it's CORE leadership group have been saying all the embankment work was a farce, there are no safety concerns at all on the canal, and the new owners, New York Power Authority, have been "making up" all the hype about "danger on the Canal".

Perhaps seeing the canal closed in two different Counties and affecting 5 different Towns, has caused this group to rethink their careless words regarding the Erie Canal & the SAFETY of the public using it and the many communities & neighbors living near it.

Nothing BETTER than a few Canal Emergencies to shake up some folks who "thought they knew it all".

And it's sad but we have to say it... we told you so.

The ECNA has always been defending public safety, those trying to advance public safety, and the need to repair this aging waterway as it's falling apart. And we have also been warning the public about a group on Facebook that has been doing quite the opposite. Maybe now canal neighbors & enthusiasts will finally understand who was right, and who was wrong.

Enough said about a group that denied the truth, denied the science, and led a group of 600+ uninformed Facebook users to the folly they find themselves in now... so much for the group's mantra of "If it isn't broke , don't fix it".

The Erie Canal is broken MESS, but frankly speaking, not in as much of a mess at the Stop the Canal Clear-cut, who promised the neighbors they would help, and now we find out that they were WRONG.

Thank the STCC on Facebook, for what's happened in Brockport.

If the New York Canal Corporation and NY Power Company weren't distracted fighting the lawsuits and lies this group was backing, they just might have had enough resources in the field, to identify and repair these types of safety issues along the Canal, throughout the sections they stated were the worst, and needing the most repair & maintenance

News:

Author Topic: Facebook's STCC Group Founder has been Wrong All Along (Read 165 times)

Doug K

Facebook's STCC Group Founder has been Wrong All Along

Doug K

Stop the Canal Clearcut Founder stated Canal Embankment Are Safe... Remember?

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Stop the Canal Clearcut Founder Blames NYPA for Canal Breach, Still Fights Embankment Repairs

Michael Caswell

Re: Facebook's Stop the Canal Clearcut Founder has been Wrong All Along...Nothing New.

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Re: Facebook's Stop the Canal Clearcut Founder has been Wrong All Along...Nothing New.

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Re: Facebook's STCC Founder has been Wrong All Along - The Erie Canal is Leaking Badly

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STCC Founder says Canal Embankments are not "man-made" - Starts Conspiracy Theory

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More Erie Canal Guard Gates Lowered for Brockport Seepage Safety Issue - STCC is Silent.